The Osceola times., 1887-04-30
ROTATION OF CROPS.
The Cheapest Way OF Maintaining the Fer
tility of the Soil.

The cheapest way OF Maintaining the Fer
tility of the Soil.
The value of rotation is no longer de-
MED by any. II has long been accepted
as one of the most important in con-
serving the fertility of the soil. but
rotation TO be valuable must include
not only the smaller cereal grains. but
as large variety of cultivated crops
as possible. In connection with tho
foregoing, meadows and pastures are
the most important in assisting 30 re-
store fertility. and in connection with
the great fallow crop of the United
States, Indian corn. The fertility Of
original fertile land may by these
means be kept up fully and indefinitely.
All the small cereal grains are ex-
hausting, and none more SO than oats,
Of valuable constituents. A soil that
will produce fifty bushels of oats per
acre should produce twenty bushels
Of wheat The oat crop will exhaust
nearly as much potash, nearly half
as much of the phosphates, and
nearly fifty per cent more nitrogen
than the crop of wheat named, in the
grain. The value of straw as manure
is about equal in each, but wheat is
always sold to be carried away from
the farm, while oats may or should be
fed at home. Hence large amount
Of the valuable fertilizing materials
are returned to the soil as manure if
carefully saved. The reason why In
dian corn is so little exhausting to the
soil is that it is nearly all fed on the
farm, and the stalks, being fed off in
the fields. these and the manure drop
ped are again plowcd under. Another
reason why Indian corn is not exces-
sively exhausting to the soil is that it
contains more largely of carbon and
less of phosphate and nitrogen, but
more potash. Neither the elements of
carbon-starch, sugar, oil, etc.-nor
potash are deficient in fertile soils,
neither do they wear ont so easily as
the phosphates and albuminoids, or,
as the latter may be properly classed,
nitrogen. Indian corn also must re-
ceive clean and careful cultivation, in
order to produce a good crop. Hence
ii is the cheapest and best fallow or
cleaning crop known to American ag-
riculturc.
Flax is generally classcd as an ex-
hausting crop. 1t is not especially so,
however, certainly not more so than
wheat and oats, if freaped and the straw
is returned to the soil. 1t, however,
unless especially cleaned, brings into
the soil all manner Of foul weeds, diff
cult to eradicate. The difficulty with
rotation that includes only the small
cereal grains and flax is. these grains
are constantly exhausting the soil of
one class of constituents. and largely of
the more difficult to replace, phosphorus
and nitrogen. The great value Of
pasture, then, is that nearly all the
manure made is returned directly to
the soil, and the manure made from
the hay of meadows may easily be re-
turned. The true value Of straw on
the farm is as an absorbent of the liquid
manure, more valuable by far than
that of the solids.
Plenty of pastures and plenty of In.
dian corn, therefore, are the most valu.
able in the long run in the rotation of
crops. These conserve. while the sell
ing Of cereal grain carries away fertil'
ity that can never be replaced for the
price of that carried away, unless the
land is cultivated to other crops to such
an extent rs to allow the soil naturally
to recupcrate. In the West, or on any
virgin soils not less than three-quar-
ters Of the land should be in pasture,
meadow and fallow crops one year with
another, to hold the full fertility of
the soil. In order to fully accomplish
this. all the manure should be saved
and again be carted onto the SOIL
Farm. Field end !St0ckmaa.